Strides Arcolab and Shasun Pharmaceuticals today announced that the board of directors of both the companies have approved a scheme of amalgamation between the two companies. The combination creates a vertically integrated pharma company of scale with strong presence in Front-ended Regulated Markets Finished Dosages, Emerging Markets Branded Generics, Institutional Business, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Contract Research and Manufacturing Services.

The combination significantly enhances Finished Dosages portfolio in niche and complex domains with a pipeline of over 100 products and accelerates product filings with a combined R&D strength of over 400 personnel

Significant de-risking of operations with the combined entity having 12 manufacturing facilities including 3 USFDA approved Finished Dosage manufacturing facilities, 2 USFD approved API manufacturing facilities, 1 USFDA approved CRAMS facility and 6 manufacturing facilities catering to the emerging markets

Merged entity to leverage Shasun's best in class API manufacturing capacities and shift focus towards niche API's aligned with Finished Dosages portfolio and pipeline. Significant synergistic opportunities in operations and cost savings through economies of scale. Creates a top 15 listed Indian pharma company by revenue with increased scale and visibility to drive future growth of the group

Commenting on the merger, Arun Kumar, Founder and Group CEO of Strides stated ''Since the divestment of our injectables business, which resulted in significant value creation for our shareholders, Strides has refocused on its oral finished formulation business. Today's proposed combination with Shasun accelerates our strategy and growth prospects by creating a larger scale, fully integrated, leading Indian pharma company with multiple growth drivers and synergies that will allow for enhanced profitability and more efficient use of our combined infrastructure and enhanced value creation opportunities for the combined shareholder group. I am excited to work more closely with the Shasun promoters and leadership in jointly building the combined entity to become one of the leading global players.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 39.9, or 6.21%, to trade at Rs 682.70. The total volume of shares traded was 186,034 at the BSE (2.58 p.m., Monday).